Warmer temp light in the woods?

[kwkarth]

Guys, the OP, Fender, asked for a better understanding of why a warmer color temperature was better in the woods. Did we answer that question? What's all this other stuff about?

 

[xenonk]

I have read here that a warmer temperature light works better in the woods than a cooler one. Can someone explain why this is?

This generally refers to LEDs because they don't emit a full spectrum of colour (some get close, but still not 100%). They just can't show some colours properly if they don't emit that wavelength. The woods are full of warmer colours, so by using a warmer tint LED you get better coverage of those and as a result you can see them better. There's been an explosion of this sort of discussion lately, so I'd recommend hitting the search function for more.

If your light source emits the full spectrum of light without any overwhelming colour spikes (eg: an incandescent bulb), you should be able to see everything clearly and the tint is not especially important.

To truly see the difference, try an incan and led of comparable output with the head of the flashlight removed and the emitter/bulb exposed. The led should be of approx half the lumens as the incan because it is emitting in approx a 180 degree arc vs 360 for the bulb.

Whoa there, flashlight lumen ratings don't work that way. An LED of the same rating as an incandescent filament emits twice as many candela in its 180 degree arc as an incandescent does in its 360 degree arc, rendering the total lumen output equal.

Removal of the reflector/head should improve an incandescent's out-the-front lumens more than a LED, though nowhere near a doubling. This has less to do with emission angle and more simply because incans suffer greater reflector losses as they emit in all directions. This also helps their throw since the reflector can catch more of the source overall and bounce it straight out the front.

I was referring to the specific example by Phaserburn, with the bulb, reflector exposed. In that example, it should be the exact opposite of what was said.(double rather than half)

I get the impression he was thinking of the conversion of candela to lumen while you're thinking of lux. The discussion went in a weird direction.

Guys, the OP, Fender, asked for a better understanding of why a warmer color temperature was better in the woods. Did we answer that question? What's all this other stuff about?

This thread could do with a little less of the other stuff, yes.

 

[Phaserburn]

No, I meant that with the led/bulb exposed, a 50 lumen led should be compared to a 100 lumen bulb (this way, both are sending approx 50 lumens in a comparable 180 degree arc).

Now back to the OP topic...